72 Hours Remain
by Gormanbros
Summary: A journey through the lives, thoughts and emotions of the citizens of the doomed land of Termina on the final days of their lives. 72 Hours will start with Anju, and move on to other characters as time goes on.


_Hey guys, Gormanbros here. Welcome to one of two new Fanfictions that I plan on writing now! The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and its characters, settings and events are owned by Nintendo, not me. But you knew that already. Hopefully. Well, without further ado, let's begin._

Section 1: Anju on the Morning of the First Day

DAWN OF THE FIRST DAY~72 HOURS REMAIN.

6:00 in the morning.

I looked outside right after getting out of bed. The sky was pretty dark still, but was quickly brightening. I woke up about forty minutes ago, and, being in the heart of Clock Town, I sadly couldn't see the sunrise. But I never could. And I haven't watched the sunrise in many years either. Dad used to take me out to the gate at East Clock Town, where we'd watch the sun rise over Termina Field. It was beautiful. But now that Dad's gone, I never get out to watch it anymore. I don't think Mom would be very happy if I did.

Speaking of Mom, she's still sleeping. I personally think it's ridiculous that she gets to sleep in, considering she still is the owner of the Stock Pot Inn, even if I do almost all the work here now. Well, I shouldn't be all that worried about petty things like sleeping in. The Carnival of Time will begin in now less than 72 hours. It's weird. Normally, the Stock Pot Inn would be overbooked in the Pre-Carnival frenzy. But today, only one guest is checking in. Only one! On this day in the past, we've had upwards of 20 guests check in. Yet, today, only one guest is to arrive here at the Stock Pot Inn. But I have a good guess why. The moon.

7:00 in the morning.

I've been thinking a lot about my future and my life. More than usual. I can't help but to think that my love for Kafei is the cause. He's been missing for a month now. I miss him so much… Only a week or two before he disappeared, he asked me to marry him… It was amazing… He took me out to the fountains in West Termina Field, facing the ocean, and gave me the Mask of Promise, which signified that we were to marry in six weeks time.

Kafei's mom is looking for him too. Madame Aroma has good intentions, sure, but she is being too broad. Much of the town finds her annoying now, me included. From what Kafei has said about Aroma in the past, I've inferred that she's incredibly emotional, and wants grandchildren more than anything else. So, I suppose Aroma really wants Kafei back so that she can gush over his babies soon. Maybe I'm being a tad harsh towards Aroma. She probably misses her only child, her beloved Kafei. But I am inclined to think that she misses her potential to be a grandmother very much as well. Kafei's dad, Dotour misses Kafei as much as Aroma (but less than I do I think). But the thing about Dotour is that he's very busy as the mayor of Clock Town that he quite simply doesn't have the time to actively search for his son. I don't mind Dotour much, and I voted for him a few years ago too -although that was mainly to please Kafei- and I think he's doing a decent job as mayor. As a dad though, not so much. Oh well. Not my place really, to be criticizing my fiancée's family.

8:00 in the morning.

I went outside the Inn to open the front door to the public for the day. I mean, guests are able to enter and exit the Inn at all times, because they have special keys, but we don't let just anybody enter during the night. Outside, I was quite shocked at what I saw.

In the few days before the Carnival, the entire plaza outside the Stock Pot Inn was bustling. Lines of tourists waiting to play exciting games would form outside the Treasure Chest Shop, Honey and Darling's, and the Shooting Gallery. This was the big time in the year for these three shops, ones me and my fellow Clock Townsfolk affectionately called "The Big Three". It was the week they would make a good third of their annual profit in.

But today, a day that started like most others, there is relative silence. The plaza itself isn't silent, mind you, but it's far from bustling. The only other people in it are Mr. Barten, the kind and quiet Milk Bartender, two Juggling men who I recognized as being inn guests and a few members of the Bombers kids. No happy families carrying maps, obviously tourists lost in the big city. No kids playing tag, chasing each other through East Clock Town. No honeymooning couples holding hands and finding themselves amused by the running children. Nothing. It's shocking, and it's sad. My Clock Town. My home. It's so lonely, from the lack of tourists to the lack of Kafei… I wouldn't wish the pain I'm feeling on my worst enemy. But for some reason, I can't give up on him. I just can't. I just love him too much. Mom wants me to give up on Kafei, but my love for him hasn't faded one bit.

Anyways, I believe I know the reason Clock Town is so empty today. All I need to do is look up. The moon seems to be falling.

9:00 in the morning.

I'm manning the front desk now. It's boring and unfulfilling, but it's my duty to welcome our guests to the Inn. Even if we only have one new guest arriving today. I also am on cooking duty, housekeeping duty, bookkeeping duty, reservations duty, concierge duty and restroom cleaning duty. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Well, my mom is on owner duty, which Kafei hilariously calls "Lounge All Day While Anju Does Everything Duty."

In our awkwardly named Broadsword Chamber, six traveling performers are staying for the Carnival, and they're to perform in the Milk Bar on the day of the Carnival. The day of my wedding. I've overheard many other people in town that the moon will probably fall that day. I'm frightened. Terrified. But I can't show it to my family and my guests. I need to keep a smile and act like my fiancée isn't missing still days before our wedding, which so happens to fall on the day the moon is set to fall on Clock Town.

So, one of the travelers walked down to the lobby and forced a fake smile towards me. I smiled back more warmly than he did. He was quite a peculiar man, appearance-wise. His face was quite shocking, with tired eyes shrouded by massive eyebrows and a formidable mustache. Atop his head were graying, thinning brown hair, and long sideburns. The man wore quite fancy clothing, brightly colored and with a frilly neck. All in all, this man looked downright bizarre to me. I hope I don't sound rude…

This man talked to me as well. As he explained to me, his name was Gorman; he was born in the area, and is now the circus leader of the traveling performing group, the Gorman Troupe. He was down in the lobby waiting for City Hall to open so that he could meet with Aroma. Bizarrely enough, Gorman called her by the term, "Madame", a term that only people with long histories with Aroma have received the "right" to use. It made me think that Aroma and Gorman might be childhood friends or neighbors. Smiling, I thought, maybe even a couple. Then I had weird thoughts about what Gorman making out with Aroma would look like, and I cringed. Yuck.

10:00 in the morning.

Ten in the morning is almost consistently the most boring hour of work. No new guests arrive until after four. No guests check out until after eleven. No meals happen at ten. No guests even stay around to talk to me. So, I've taken this opportunity to catch up on my reading. I've always loved to read, ever since I read my first book, Dogs in Clock Town, when I was five. So, I'm currently reading a mythology book. It's titled _The Imp and the Giants_. It's a story my grandma has read countless times. She knew just how to get me to sleep when I was little with this story. I'm reading it myself now for three reasons. One, there's a heavenly body falling down over Clock Town right now, and the Four Giants are probably the only thing that could ever stop it. Two, grandma gave it to me a few days ago to read it, telling me that it would be good for me. And three, with Kafei gone, I need something happy and nostalgic to keep me from falling apart. It's working alright, I suppose. But, no matter what I'm doing, Kafei seems to come back to my mind…

11:00 in the morning.

I'm sitting down waiting for the soup I'm making to be done. I'm making my grandma's favorite soup for her, one that hasn't been made for her in several months, because I want her to be happy if the world really does end… Grandma is starting to go senile, Mom and I think, and we are trying to do things to jog her memory and keep her connected with her past.

I'm not the best cook in the world. I'll admit that. My dad was a great cook though. I wish I could be as good a cook as he was… Grandma asks for him a lot. It makes me sad. I try to emulate his cooking, but I can't really. I just don't have that skill. I never have.

Mom acts as if she's angry at dad. I know she's not, but she sure keeps that act up. Mom and Dad had a lot of fights near the end. She thought he was cheating on her when he really wasn't. All he was doing was that he left the inn from time to time to earn a little extra money. He wouldn't tell her what he was doing out of embarrassment. He was quite prideful, and he would never admit to his wife that he lost some money gambling with his buddies at the Milk Bar. The only reason I know this is because I followed Dad in secret one day to see what he was up to and I found him sweeping the Trading Post.

He died shortly after that time. The doctor said it was a complete mystery as to why he died. It was late at night, and Mom woke up to find him dead in the kitchen. She was sobbing. I was too. Mom sent me and Grandma into Grandma's room so that we didn't see or hear her cry, but Grandma and I both knew exactly what Mom was doing.

That was ten years ago. Mom, Grandma and I all still miss him a lot. Mom hides it under anger, Grandma asks for her beloved son quite often, and I think about him every time I go in the kitchen.

To be continued.

_Thanks for reading this! Please review, and tell me what you like or dislike about this! Also, I will take suggestions for who else to do after Anju's three days are up in a few chapters. Also, here's the layout for the Anju arc._

_Morning 1_

_Afternoon 1_

_Night 1_

_Day 2_

_Night 2_

_Day 3_

_Night 3_


End file.
